You might think that these two “wacky dudes” (that’s how the majority of population sees them) are on some crazy drugs.
You might think that these two “wacky dudes” (that’s how the majority of population sees them) are on some crazy drugs.
They Might Be Giants – The Else
They Might Be Giants are two men, and they are both named John. John Linnell and John Flansburgh on keys and guitars respectively. Both take turns on vocal duties. Backed by a three-man band, (two called Dan one called Marty), they release their twelfth studio album of their (so far) twenty-three years long career. It’s called The Else. Now, if you’ve heard of They Might Be Giants you’ll probably only be aware of their hits; 1989’s Birdhouse In Your Soul or 2000’s Boss Of Me; more widely recognised as the theme tune from the TV show Malcolm In The Middle. The Else is produced by Pat Dillet, a fact which put a frown on the face of this avid TMBG fan. Dillet previously produced a few of the band’s stinkers, including Factory Showroom, They Got Lost and the 2004 "good in some places" release, The Spine.
So, quite naturally I was thinking this one was either going to be hit or miss. Anyway, let’s review the LP. The first track is I’m Impressed –maybe the title is an indication of what they hoped us fans would think of this album, and yes, it’s worked. I’m actually impressed with lyrics about gorillas beating their chests and then pounding their desks; it doesn’t make much sense to me but TMBG songs hardly ever do. I dare you to work out what half of this album is all about. For instance, Bee of The Bird of The Moth with its Rolf Harris-esque Stylophone doesn’t make much sense lyrically but speculation on internet forums lead to the theory that this song may be about the "Snowberry Clearwing Hummingbird Moth" (but that may only be because it says bird moth and it looks like a bee).
You might think that these two "wacky dudes" (that’s how the majority of population sees them) are on some crazy drugs. The band are totally aware of this, proven in what for me is the stand out track of the album The Cap’n with the lyrics "When I talk, you keep looking away from me/ ‘Cause you probably think that I’m high on pot, / but I’m not…I’m not". Those internet speculations of what the song could be about come into play again here with folks spreading the word that this song could be from one John to the other about which they think is the leader of the group, "The Cap’n" of the They Might Be Giants ship as it were.
It’s just a pity some of it sounds samey, mostly the songs composed by John Flansburgh, the fat less nasal-voiced one that doesn’t sound like Olive Oyl (for those who don’t know). I think this really shows that John Linnel is The Cap’n of the group. I do think that this album is a lot better than some of the bores they have churned out over the years but it still doesn’t and I don’t think they ever will match up to their first three albums; They Might Be Giants, Lincoln and Flood and, at a push, the fourth; Apollo 18. There is one connective thing about those four albums… they were made before TMBG got a backing band instead of playing with a tape machine. It just seemed as if they lost their quirky nature, taking themselves far too seriously. There isn’t anything wrong with The Else it’s just…not as great as it could be.
Photo: Courtesy http://www.tmbg.com/